Locking pliers with a locking lever between handles
A pair of locking pliers includes a first handle having a holed wall; a second handle pivotably secured to the first handle; a multi-sided link pivotably secured to a jaw of the second handle and including a shank passed through the wall; an L-shaped lever pivotably secured to the first handle and including a first portion disposed rearward of the wall, a projected second portion between the handles, and a multi sided aperture through the first portion with a rear end of the link passed through; and a spring put on the link and biased between the wall and the first portion. The link is locked in the aperture by disposing the first portion obliquely about the link. Pivoting the lever will compress the spring, unlock the pliers by disposing the link perpendicularly to the first portion, and pivotably push the first and second handles away from each other.
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to gripping tools and more particularly to a pair of locking pliers having a locking lever disposed between handles.
2. Related Art
A pair of conventional locking pliers is shown in
But this is unsatisfactory for the purpose for which the present invention is concerned for the following reasons: Firstly, the outwardly projected lever 1 is visually unattractive and detracts from the appearance of the pliers. Secondly, the outwardly projected lever 1 may hinder the clamping operation by the hand. Thirdly, the channel 14 is required to line up with the shank of the link 3 in assembly. This involves a high precision operation and may result in an increase in the manufacturing cost. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pair of locking pliers having the following advantages. Firstly, its projected lever is disposed between first and second handles. Thus, it is aesthetic. Secondly, the projected lever does not hinder the clamping operation by the hand. Thirdly, its assembly is relatively simple, resulting in a decrease in the manufacturing cost. Fourthly, an unlocking operation of the pliers is quick and smooth.
To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a pair of locking pliers comprising a first handle including a first jaw, a rear wall having a first aperture, and a yoke in a rear of the rear wall; a second handle including a second jaw and pivotably secured to the first handle by means of a spring biased pin; a multi-sided link pivotably secured to the second jaw and including a shank passed through the first aperture to terminate at a position between the yoke; a substantially L-shaped lever pivotably secured to the yoke and including a first portion disposed rearward of the rear wall, a second portion disposed externally of the first handle and between the first and second handles, and a multi sided second aperture through the first portion of the lever with a rear end of the link passed through; and a spring put on a rear portion of the link and biased between the rear wall and the first portion of the lever; wherein in a locked position of the pliers the link is locked in the second aperture by disposing the first portion of the lever obliquely relative to the rear end of the link; and whereby pivoting the lever about the first handle by pressing the second portion of the lever will compress the spring, unlock the pliers by disposing the link to be perpendicular to the first portion of the lever, and pivotably push ends of the first and second handles further away from each other.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
By configuring as above, the spring 51 has both ends urged against one portion 63 of the lever 6 and the rear wall 13, the lever 6 is made pivotal with respect to the yoke members 14 (i.e., the first handle 1), and the rear end of link 4 is locked by the aperture 61 (i.e., the pliers is locked) because one portion 63 is disposed obliquely relative to the rear end of the link 4 as shown in
For unlocking the pliers, a user may press the lever 6 toward the first handle 1 to pivot one portion 63 about the pivot joint of the yoke members 14 with the spring 51 being compressed until the link 4 is perpendicular to one portion 63 (see
In view of the above, the present invention thus has the following advantages. Firstly, the projected lever 1 is disposed between the first and second handles 1 and 2. Thus, it is aesthetic. Secondly, the projected lever 1 does not hinder the clamping operation by the hand. Thirdly, its assembly is relatively simple, resulting in a decrease in the manufacturing cost. Fourthly, the unlocking operation of the pliers is quick and smooth due to the unique features of the springs 33 and 51.
It is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited only to the particular constructions herein disclosed and shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. A pair of locking pliers comprising:
- a first member comprising a proximal handle portion having a first wall in a proximal end portion thereof, with an aperture in the first wall, a yoke on the handle portion near the first wall, and a distal jaw portion;
- a second member comprising a proximal handle portion and a distal jaw portion, the second member being positioned crossing the first member with the respective jaw portions opposing, and pivotably secured to the first member at an intermediate point between the jaw portion and the handle portion;
- a link mechanism with a distal end pivotably secured to the jaw portion of the second member and a proximal end portion releaseably secured to the proximal handle portion of the first member, and including a shank with a distal end pivotably secured to the jaw portion of the second member, and a proximal end passed through the aperture in the first wall of the handle portion of the first member, to terminate at a position proximal to said first wall, a substantially L-shaped release lever pivotably secured to the yoke and including a first portion disposed proximally of the first wall, a second portion disposed externally of the handle portion of the first member and between the handle portions of the first and second members, and having a second aperture through the first portion of the lever with a proximal end of the shank passed through, and perpendicular to the first portion of the lever, and pivotably push the handle portions of the first and second members further away from each other. a spring biased between the rear wall and the first portion of the lever;
- wherein in a locked position of the pliers the link is locked in the second aperture by disposing the first portion of the lever obliquely relative to the proximal end of the link; and whereby pressing the second portion of the lever will compress the spring, unlocking the pliers by disposing the link to be perpendicular to the first portion of the lever, and pivotably push the handle portions of the first and second members further away from each other.
3. The pair of locking pliers of claim 1, wherein the shank of the link mechanism, and the first and second apertures are each multi-sided.
4. The pair of locking pliers of claim 1, wherein the handle portion of the first member further comprises a distal wall with a third aperture.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 15, 2006
Publication Date: Mar 20, 2008
Inventor: Ching-Chen Yang (Taiping City)
Application Number: 11/521,798
International Classification: B25B 7/14 (20060101);